ray_riedel

<p>For what it's worth, my Soligor CdS Exposure Meter (not the spot meter II) has a zero adjustment screw near the trigger. It is not the Spot Meter II version, so I can't speak for that. Look the meter over and see if there is a zero adjustment screw.</p>

<p>Another reason for using the old projector is as a replacement for scanning slides. I have over 5000 slides from my father, chronicling family vacations, holidays, fun and events. He was an excellent photographer with good composition, focus and lighting. He even made sure to get journalistic style photos -not stiff poses. So with a Kodak projector I can place the slides into the carousel, use my Canon 1DX camera and shoot directly into the projector with it's lens removed getting over 5000 x 3400 pixel images with less than 3 seconds per image. press project button, next slide loads, press shutter button, image captured. More resolution than that would be pointless, and I don't know of any scanner system that can operate that fast at that resolution. I can see each image as captured by "tethering" the camera to avoid huge errors in focus or exposure should they occur. I'll shoot in a fixed white balance setting in RAW files. using photomechanic I can quickly batch downsample and categorize images to upload to my website for roughly 1 MB screen images. Those that are interesting enough for special treatment, I can pull up the RAW file and spend time on it. By saving all the RAW files, this can be done for any of the slides and provides a good archive. (I have server with triple back-up.)<br>

I am looking for a much lower wattage bulb to lower risk the of burning up or fading the slides. I don't need to project onto a screen. Keep in mind the whole point of using the projector is for the fast load and consistent lighting while allowing for fast, high resolution image capture via DSLR. Making low resolution web copies of the files would take less than an hour for all 5000 slides using photo mechanic.<br>

If I find a lower watt bulb that works, and build a practical mount for camera and projector alignment, I'll post the results here. This has been done before (except the maybe not the low watt bulb) by a slide to digital service which if I recall correctly is in NY.</p>

Thanks to everyone who said stroboscopic. I agree for what I want I'll need significant flash power. I appreciate the

mention of time delayed packs and a brand name to investigate. I did see an article (forget where) where the

photographer got multiple shots of an airborne skier using. One very powerful "stroboscopic" flash with batteypack. No

issue with overexposed ground because the flash was on the other side of a rise and the flash wouldn't affect the sky. I

have a number of studio packs to play with and radio controls. I'll rig my own time delays for practice before I shop for

hardware. I'll have some challenges coming up with ways to compose so as not overexpose ground and backgrounds.

Shooting for newspaper and aiming for photo -not "photo illustration".

I've seen outdoor skiing photos taken with powerful lights that flash at 10 Hz or faster. As a dumb kid, lights that flashed rapidly and

continuously at "fun houses" or used for engine timing lights were called strobe lights. I want THAT kind of strobe light for some creative

photography. I've seen powerful ones in the past used for interesting action shots with the camera lens stopped down and shutter on long

exposure so multiple images in one shot.

 

The problem is: What are they called? If I search using the word "strobe" those lights are buried beneath uncountable hits for speedlite a,

studio flash, on camera glad etc.

 

Not looking to argue terminology. Just need to know what the high frequency flashing lights are called now so I can find them.

 

I could find no category for this question under lighting.

<p>I bought old Polaroid 55 positive/negative film and took it with me on business trip to Berlin. Everywhere I setup my wooden Zone 6 camera, passersby would ask "Is that a camera?" -in English! I'm not sure what gave me away as an Anglophone -no logos or words on my clothing. (Maybe I don't want to know.)<br>

prior to that trip, there was lots of advice to not buy the Polaroid back (for $10) because it was useless, but I got a few good shots of street performers in the subways and met a lot of folks who wanted to look through the camera. I even met a local pro who hooked me up with some good contacts and shops. At that time the Type 55 ran me about $5 per shot. Slow photography with an instant result can be alot of fun -even though I didn't pull the photos through the rollers until I was back in the room where I could wash the negatives.<br>

I didn't have to worry about developing the film, and got a local shop to do hi-res drum scans of the negatives that were keepers.<br>

Film in general is going obsolete. The cost of a film back won't break you. Enjoy it while it is still here, and maybe there will be enough business for awhile longer. I just recently bought my own enlarger for 4x5 film along with trays etc. There are still multiple sources for non-instant 4x5 film.<br>

Most of my time and cash goes into sports photography. Even though I enjoy sports, that is work for pay. Key word: work. Black and white film "slow photography" is fun and magic.<br>

http://riedelsportsphotography.zenfolio.com/p257600195/e62289a6f<br>

Roughly ISO 25 and 3 second exposure. I was able to give them free prints a few days later when I met them at another subway station. Still new to large format, I told them to move the wrong way when I tried to get the subway light out of the picture. (Image backward and upside down when viewing through the lens.) It keeps you on your toes: spot meter, compensate for true shutter speed, compensate for bellows length, compensate for IS0 25 negative (oops -set for ISO 50 positive).</p>

<p>I bought old Polaroid 55 positive/negative film and took it with me on business trip to Berlin. Everywhere I setup my wooden Zone 6 camera, passersby would ask "Is that a camera?" -in English! I'm not sure what gave me away as an Anglophone -no logos or words on my clothing. (Maybe I don't want to know.)<br>

prior to that trip, there was lots of advice to not buy the Polaroid back (for $10) because it was useless, but I got a few good shots of street performers in the subways and met a lot of folks who wanted to look through the camera. I even met a local pro who hooked me up with some good contacts and shops. At that time the Type 55 ran me about $5 per shot. Slow photography with an instant result can be alot of fun -even though I didn't pull the photos through the rollers until I was back in the room where I could wash the negatives.<br>

I didn't have to worry about developing the film, and got a local shop to do hi-res drum scans of the negatives that were keepers.<br>

Film in general is going obsolete. The cost of a film back won't break you. Enjoy it while it is still here, and maybe there will be enough business for awhile longer. I just recently bought my own enlarger for 4x5 film along with trays etc. There are still multiple sources for non-instant 4x5 film.<br>

Most of my time and cash goes into sports photography. Even though I enjoy sports, that is work for pay. Black and white film "slow photography" is fun and magic.</p>

<p>I f shooting wide open, some burst shots (spray and pray) are always helpful, Faces in transition, moderate camera shake, and the musicians motion can all spoil a shot. The burst (three shots) increases the likelihood that your movement, or the performers movement, will pass through 0.<br>

Obviously, if you could shoot high enough shutter speed to freeze action, you would.<br>

Shallow DOF is often a good thing, but you know this already, I saw your flickr page and loved your outdoor photography.<br>

All other things being equal, (they aren't), primes with f2 and lower can focus better and faster in low light. My 70-200mm f2.8L focuses faster at basketball games than my 50mm f1.4 or my 100mm f2.0, but at dances with very low light, my 50mm f1.4 focuses faster than the 70-200mm. Somebody earlier mentioned limits -it all applies. So you'll need to use different tactics as conditions allow. Remember focusing occurs at max aperture regardless what f-stop you select for exposure.<br>

I've had good luck shooting with my 100mm at f2 and then as suggested by another, cropping the image. I also shoot the Canon 5D mkII and like going at lower ISO and available light that the 100mm allows. Unless I'm making big prints, I also downsample the images which sharpens the image and reduces noise.<br>

I've never considered flash for stage shows. They have pros providing exciting lighting, so I always use that. Especially when using colored lights. Unfortunately, if there are multiple flash shooters out there, they will spoil some of your shots.</p>

 

I suggest you get a used camera from eBay that is more versatile and

rugged. Save your money for lenses. If you get into portrait

photography you may want a PC sync port to operate flash heads. If

you get into sports or dance photography you may want back-button

focus, rear curtain flash sync, or control the speed of focus acquisition.

For covering car racing you may want to quickly change from panning

settings to a freeze action shot. I don't know how well, if at all, the

600D can do any of that. Is it weather sealed? Will that be important?

Seriously, by a used 40D or similar so you'll not only have cash for the

lenses and accessories you didn't yet know you would want, but the

first camera that you are certain to out grow won't depreciate so much

for next year when you have a better idea of what you want.

'

After using your 28-135mm lens you'll figure out your next lens. I like

shallow depth of field and indoor sports, so my first lenses were 50mm

f1.4 and 100mm f2.0 they allowed fast shutter speeds indoors and

wonderful available light portraits. Remember cameras focus "wide

open", so even if stopping down to f4 or f5,6 they will autofocus at f1.4

or whatever the Max aperture is. That's a big help in low light. I think

everyone should have a 50mm f1.4 lens. You have that focal length

covered, but not that ability for shallow DOF and low light action at

dances or indoor sports. Look up the word bokeh. Just some more

things to consider. For indoor sports, even with with your 1.6 crop

factor camera you'll need to be very close to use a 50mm.

William, sorry for confusing the thread.

I have never heard of a lens falling off a

monopod.

 

What I made reference to in my later

post is the lens falling off the camera -

no monopod involved. Turns out large

lenses come loose in Canon 5D mkII

cameras. Common symptom is

autofocus not working, until you twist

the lens back into place. Worst

symptom is the lens falls out while you

are walking.

 

It was that experience, and seeing set

screws used on tripod heads, that had

me wondering if monopods with just

the single center screw would allow the

lens to accidentally loosen.

 

Of course, when using a monopod, or

tripod, I mount to the lens ring. Sorry

for confusing the issue on that. Unlike

the 400mm f2.8, I find the 300mm f2.8L

hand hold able for most events, like

track and field when only covering a

few teams for the newspaper. When

I'm the event shooter for a marathon,

not so hand holdable.

 

I am convinced from your experience

and the lack of set screws on top brand

monopods, that loosening must not be

an issue.

Thanks William. That Vortex with the

set screws was just the setup I was

looking for. It even has a gun rest

attachment. I was starting to suspect

that feature might not be needed, but I

have experienced my 300mm lens

falling out of my 5D mkII mount. Turns

out it's a common occurance - I

googled it. I would hate for it to fall off

my monopod after up and down

shouldering at an all day track meet. If

your 400mm is staying on, my 300mm

should be fine. I may still take a look at

the Arca adapter and put my drill press

to use.

Yes. Of course a monopod rotates easily. What I want is to be sure my lens doesn't unscrew from the monopod. I'm planning to get an

Arca compatible quick release plate (such as a Kirk LP-1) for my 300mm f2.8L lens and an Arca mount which has provisions for anti-

rotation screws, but I'm not seeing any monopods from Manfrotto or others that have anything other than the center screw. This as

opposed to tripods which have provisions for additional screws to prevent rotation of heads.

 

I see lots of photographers who have the lens on a stick they carry over their shoulders. Surely there is some provision to avoid the lens

loosening on the screw, but I don't see it.

You can get a 100mm f2 lens used for just over $300. Shoot wide open at f2 and increase shutter speed to 1/400. In other

words, full manual. Leave the monopod at home. Canon also makes a macro 100mm f2.8l lens -that's not what I would

recommend.

The light cycles at 120hz. 60hz times 2 because the light won't care if the sine wave is at positive or negative value. As

you slow down toward 1/125 sec, the color will be more consistent. Of course, that will really limit action shots.

 

Next choice is high speed bursts. You'll have a better chance of catching shots with good light. Use photo sorting software

like Photo Mechanic (this is NOT photo editing software) to quickly pick out the shots with good color.

 

The worst problem is not the 120hz cycling. It's the flourescent lighting where the "bulbs" are all different colors. Look up

at the ceiling and you'll see pink, green, blue, yellow . . . In those venues look for a place that is acceptably lit and shoot

close-ups. Avoid using strobes. Very annoying to audience, officials, and other photographers.

I shoot basketball and night football at ISO 6400. I couldn't afford the 1Dx so I tested a 7D and a 5D mkIi. The 5D was

way better at high ISO. For newsprint I didn't need to do any post process noise reduction, other than downsample the

images.

 

I agree with the earlier poster. I've had my shots ruined by some lunkheads shooting strobes from the other end of the

court. Not talking on camera flash, but powerful flash heads. You would think at 1/500 second they wouldn't hit at the

same time -until the slam dunk shot gets ruined by huge backlight.

 

Your own image quality will also suffer from bad color balance. Your 5000 K strobes and maybe 3200 K gym lights. Invest

in better lens and camera.

 

At pro games the light is great. Good constant color and bright enough I can go down to 3200 at high speed.

 

 

 

The audience and other shooters will HATE your strobes. Players will likely not notice.

 

Save strobes for portraits. Get better lenses and camera for indoor sports.

I recently shot discus at a high school

track meet using my 300mm f2.8L and

a rented 2x extender. I was 210 ft away

and found focus poor (I shoot a Canon

1D mkII and 5D mkii). I ended up using

my 1.4x for better results.

 

I read an article by a surfing

photographer who was debating

between a 400mm and 500mm lens.

His friend said he can always backup if

too close, so he went with the 500mm.

If shooting from shore, will you ever go

below 400mm? He became a top

surfing photographer for SI after getting

close-up (dangerous) shots with a

water proof camera (and much smaller

lens) and ducking right after his shot as

the surfer and wave passed over.

 

Be sure to rent the lenses you are

considering to be sure they work for

you.

<p>An earlier post said you can't determine sync voltage without opening up the units. In fact, it can be measured with a voltmeter right at the socket where you plug in your camera PC to household connector cable. The voltage is just sitting there as soon as you turn on the unit. Your camera PC (Proctor Compur?) connector provides the switch.<br>

I have not used the Wein safe sync, I hear it's a great product and a great idea to use one. The next paragraph is a warning about a different Wein product.<br>

I have used the Wein light sensitive switches (NOT the safe sync discussed above). I forget what they are called, but they will react to the light from an on-camera flash (or other flash) and fire the power pack remotely, allowing for a wireless setup between the camera and powerpack. I highly recommend NOT using those. Most of the time they work, but one equipment destroying problem is when they start going off, rapidly, seemingly on their own. This is not necessarily a defect in the Wein unit, but it would sometimes fire off some rapid flashes in the gym where I was doing team photos. This can destroy the Novatron and the flash heads. (No, there weren't parents poaching shots with point-n-shoots). I think it had to do with the gyms lighting system and AC system -the AC would start and stop with a few bangs and maybe cause light flicker not visible to human eyes. I had two of these Wein remote sync units and one was not sensitive enough, sometimes it would not fire and the other was too sensitive -sometimes going off seemingly on its own. If you have your own studio these could be good, but for on location photography too many things can go wrong. I have never had a problem with well routed and taped down cables other than time and effort. Someday I'll get a Pocket Wizard or similar radio system when I am tired of cables.<br>

One tip for using cables and light stands -be sure to tape the cable onto the light stand near the floor. If somehow a cable does get tripped over or pulled, (most likely while setting up -prior to final tape down) the light stand will be pulled from the bottom and more likely to slide a bit, rather than pulled from the flash head and tip over.</p>

 

<p>Being a jerk is not illegal, but I am surprised he was able to publish and sell photos of a persons image without their consent. Even celebrity stalkers sell to "news" magazines so they get a pass for Journalism. He's also an ass for not offering them a release form and some cash, given the outrageous sale price reported.<br>

This crosses the usual lines:<br>

The people are in their homes, not "out" in public.<br>

The photos were not limited to educational or journalistic use -they were sold commercially.<br>

The right to privacy is the cornerstone of abortion law, trumping right to life. Now we see that "art" trumps privacy under the guise of free speech. Wow. The judge is much more creative than the low life photographer. I wonder if they will find grounds to appeal? They don't have any form of peeping Tom laws on the state or local level? I wonder if this judge will be up for election.<br>

To other photographers: Warning -don't try this in your own state.</p>

 

<p>JDM says all polaroid films he knows of have straight edges, but this discussion is about Type 55 positive/negative film. The instant print will have straight edges, its the negative that has the famous irregular borders. Many artists like to show those on their enlargements.<br>

Regarding longevity: I bought some Polaroid film from an ebay seller this summer who seemed honest. He had a mix of polaplan 400, type 52, and mostly type 55. I've only had one of the Polaplan that worked, but I've had 100% success with the type 55. Of course, your results may vary.<br>

I hope the new55 project works out.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I've picked up one of these and had mostly good results. Only "mostly" because I didn't have all the parts -like the piece that goes under the lid to form a light seal, the piece that stops the film from raising up, and the piece that helps align the film so both sides go into the same slot. Fortunately, my first time developing with this was with test shots since I expected to be on a learning curve.<br>

I had four negatives to develop. I put two near the ends and two a few slots in from center.<br>

The two negatives in the center were ruined due to light leak -not a design failure, my ignorance at not knowing I was missing a part.<br>

The other negatives were shielded from light by the inner ones, they were mostly OK, except they rose up in the slots and so the top 1/4" was under developed. (Missing the part that holds the negatives down.)<br>

I didn't see any marking for fluid volume, so I calculated 4x4x5 and came up with 1400ml -rounding up. (The negatives are bent in the tank so not the full 5" tall) Looks like I was off by 100ml based on another response. this and the fluid that would spill out the non-water tight top probably added to developing problems.<br>

On the plus side -no scratches, and I did developing in the light. I've since learned that I should have done side to side sliding for agitation. (I had gripped the top diagonal corners and moved them in little vertical circles. Side to side sliding would have been less spillage.)<br>

Because this is slow to fill and slow to drain, I included those times in the total developing time. (12 minutes with 1:1 D76)</p>

<p>I'm looking into camera insurance. The policy found on your site is for "members". I can sign-on to your site with email & password -am I a member? Or is membership some sort of paid subscription? thanks</p>

I've shot a few thousand indoor action shots of grade school volleyball and basketball with 1.6 crop camera and

the EF 50mm f1.4 lens. I started with the metal version of the F1.8 but the focus was too slow and I really

needed a bigger aperture for the dimly lit gyms. (Flash photography is considered rude if not flat out forbidden

at these events.) The f1.4 version seems to focus faster than the f1.8.

 

Because I had a press pass (school paper) I was very close to the action. (Always talk to the refs and coaches

before the games about where you can be.) If I had to be in the stands I would have gone for an 85 or 100mm and

missed about 10% of shots due to the lighting in some gyms. But these lenses get great shots in the better lit gyms.

 

Except for an Olympus 35-100mm f2.0 zoom ($2000+) I don't know of any zooms that are useful for indoor sports

under these conditions: bad light, no flash, maximum ISO 1600, and wanting to freeze action.

The 50mm is my main lens. I have a 70-200mm f4L for track and field and cross country -wish I could afford the

f2.8 version for more control of depth of field, but that's in the future.

 

Check out "Lens Rentals" so you can experiment and see how a lens works for you. I fell in love with the 100mm

f2.0 lens after renting one for a few weeks. For volleyball games I'd switch between the 50mm and the 100mm to

get a better variety of shots. (With the 100mm I could shoot from back court.) The players really pop-out when

you've got a wide open big aperture lens.